On a warm Tuesday evening, the Macon County Republican Party used America’s 250th as inspiration to kick off the campaign season well ahead of the traditional Labor Day launch.
Held at the Moss Valley Venue, the Grand Ole Party’s America’s 250th Celebration and Fundraiser included several guests who spoke on candidacy, conservatism, and Christianity, while commenting on America’s future and founding at its sesquicentennial.
Party Chairwoman Patti Trick opened the event stating, “We are celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States of America. Two and a half centuries of liberty and the radical, beautiful idea that our rights do not come from a king or dictator or government bureaucracy despite what some people would say.”
She asked if Americans over the last 250 years sat back, “folded their arms, and just watched history happen? Absolutely not. Every single ounce of freedom we enjoy today was paid for, built, and defended by people who refused to sit on the sidelines. Tonight is a celebration of that 250-year legacy. It’s a moment to look back with immense pride about what our conservative values have built and protected.”
Local candidates
First time Macon County District 2 candidates Kellie Burns and Dylan Castle each delivered messages to attendees with an urgency to move the county forward in a conservative and Christian manner.
“As we celebrate our 250 years, we have to realize that we are a few votes away from losing everything – from losing our rights, losing our freedom. So, I implore you to get out and vote because every decision you make will affect your household and this nation because everything starts right here,” Burns said. “We have to be a peculiar people, people set apart.”
Referring to sacrifices made by so many at the founding of our country, Castle pointed out that patriots had no idea if they would win, but they stood and fought for what they believed in.
He pointed out that many men, women, even children got killed standing on the patriot side. They died thinking it might have been a lost cause.
“Those men who survived Valley Forge said ‘we have to go until there is nothing left to give.’ That is how much they valued freedom,” Castle said. “That is the blood, as they say, that flows through our veins. Do not forget the blood of the patriots; you have it in you. I believe the future of Macon County is with young people who have families and know what needs to be done. It’s time to turn over the reins, and let’s push Macon County into the future.”
Cameras and Big Brother
John Shearl, running as an incumbent from District 1, talked at length about challenges facing county residents. Those challenges stem primarily from government overreach or inattention in Shearl’s view.
He spent virtually all of his allotted time, and more, discussing FLOCK cameras – special license plate cameras ideally designed to help law enforcement locate stolen vehicles, track wanted suspects, and otherwise assist in solving crimes.
Shearl’s main complaint was that Macon County funded behind closed doors, only revealed through the 2026-2027 budget process. He believes they are an unwarranted surveillance of citizens and have been abused by other counties around the nation.
“I will not vote for this budget to spend our tax dollars to surveil citizens. We withheld that money and the sheriff of Macon County must come in front of the county commissioners and the citizens, and explain this to us,” Shearl revealed.
N.C. GOP Hispanic chair inspires listeners to action
Sandy Moyer, chairwoman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of N.C., rounded out the evening’s speakers. Moyer was born in New York but spent her formative years in the Dominican Republic. She now leads the assembly, which has grown from two to seven counties. The state. chapter ranks second nationally in membership.
“I believe the future of conservatism is Christians,” she began. “We have a lot of momentum going on around the Spanish community.”
She said Christian beliefs and values were commonplace at our country’s birth, “The founding fathers, even though they weren’t all Christians, the majority of them believed in God and they believed we are all created in the image of God. But the left seeks to divide us, constantly – by ethnicity, by geographical location, and in other ways.”
She said Conservatives value people based on individual merits, not ethnicity. “I say push back on the nonsense that media is trying to portray. We are more united than the left wants us to believe. I think we should encourage that national unity. In this 250th anniversary, I think that is what our founders would want. They would want us to align in agreement on our values and principles. We can work together.”
Moyer advised people to not shy away from Christian values and not be afraid of speaking out for those values. She also tied that in to patriotism at this sesquicentennial.
“Wow, look at the privilege of being born in one of the greatest countries on Earth. With it, there comes a responsibility. You can’t just sit on your hands and be happy that you’re an American,” she said. “Guess what? The government isn’t doing what it’s supposed to be doing because we, Americans, have allowed it. The enemy is within the gates. Yes, there are exterior people coming in, but that’s just one layer. It’s already been in the universities. It’s been in the schools. It’s already been in the decay of the home, in persons that don’t go to church or read the Bible.”
Moyer wrapped up the evening with an inspirational quote by President George Washington from his farewell address in 1796: “Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of ‘American’ belongs to you in your national capacity, you must always exalt for just pride of patriotism.”
Edwards and Whatley recorded
In a recorded message, U.S. Congressman Chuck Edwards, 11th District, N.C., told attendees, “I’m here in D.C. right now doing what you hired me to do. But please know I’m shoulder to shoulder with you in spirit for your festivities and your mission.”
He was followed with a recorded message by Republican National Committee Chairman and current candidate to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate, Michael Whatley. “Today, the American dream is getting an education. Getting a job, get married, buying a house, or raising your kids in a safe and sane community so they can go out and get an education and do great things – that is what we’re fighting for in this Senate campaign.”